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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / high oil pressure - 37 85hp

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Posted By Discussion Topic: high oil pressure - 37 85hp -- page: 1 2     Tev 09-01-2011 @ 9:09 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 24 Joined: Nov 2009 First, I've run a search on this and couldn't find anything. Here's the deal, I've got an original 37 coupe with a 37 85 hp flathead. About 6 months ago we pulled the radiator and water pumps. Radiator was rodded out and the water pumps were rebuilt by Skip Haney. We did some other minor work, but the engine was running great before we pulled the radiator so no other work was done. After we got it put back together, I noticed two things that were new - a bit (not a lot) of blueish oil smoke from the tailpipe and the oil pressure gauge pegs at 50 as soon as the engine starts. I'm ordering new pressure relief spring from Mac's. Question 1 - am I on the right track? Question 2, should we rebuild the oil pump? Question 3, what else should we do while we have the pan off? doning 09-01-2011 @ 9:13 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 158 Joined: Nov 2009 Just a guess but what about the oil sender or the gauge? Maybe something isn't right there. Tev 09-01-2011 @ 9:15 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 24 Joined: Nov 2009 Well, I thought about that, but the blueish smoke (which is a new thing since we let it sit for so long) indicates its a real oil pressure issue. The high oil pressure and blue smoke are both new for this engine. Stroker 09-01-2011 @ 12:04 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 I would assume that you pulled the radiator to correct a cooling issue. Is it possible that the engine overheated at some point? Blue smoke can result from rings that have lost their temper after being subjected to overheating. The high oil pressure reading might trace back to the same event, if a bit of carbonized oil plugged the relief. Tev 09-01-2011 @ 3:38 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 24 Joined: Nov 2009 It's possible, but very unlikely on my watch. I bought the car about a year and a half ago and have only taken it on very short rides before the work - always with an eye on the temp. It never overheated, no boiling over or anything like that. I didn't like how quickly it warmed up, so that's why I decided to refresh the cooling system. The oil pressure reading and blue smoke are new since the radiator and water pumps were replaced - I don't recall this before and I always pay close attention to oil pressure and temp in all my vintage cars, especially recent arrivals. Anyway, thanks for the question. Sounds like the relief valve is the right approach so far. 40 Coupe 09-01-2011 @ 3:51 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1674 Joined: Oct 2009 if the engine sat for a long time put some MMO in the oil. It appears you are assuming you have high oil pressure. Why not put a mechanical gauge on it and find out. There is no problem with the initial cold oil pressure being over 50# as long as it comes down when the engine heats up. MG 09-01-2011 @ 3:58 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1254 Joined: Nov 2009 Tev, You said you did some "minor work" in your opening post. What minor work did you do? When you removed the water pumps and the radiator, was the car/engine jacked at a radical angle? Did you disconnect the header pipes or exhaust manifold while working on the car? If you haven't, I'm thinking you might want to drive the car for awhile to see if it corrects itself before pulling the pan. This message was edited by MG on 9-1-11 @ 10:15 PM Tev 09-01-2011 @ 4:47 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 24 Joined: Nov 2009 The minor work was just cleaning and repainting one head, swapping old junky looking spark plug wires for correct ones from Macs, and installing new motor mounts (front and rear). The header pipes and exhaust manifold were left on. Now, the front of the engine was jacked up a bit with the rear left in place - maybe that's it. Since 40 Coupe and MG both say there's no harm in running it to see if the pressure comes down, I'll do that and report back. I'm a novice with these cars. I love original equipment, but I'm afraid of doing damage due to ignorance. Thanks and more after I run it a bit this weekned. Tev 09-01-2011 @ 8:12 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 24 Joined: Nov 2009 The minor work was just cleaning and repainting one head, swapping old junky looking spark plug wires for correct ones from Macs, and installing new motor mounts (front and rear). The header pipes and exhaust manifold were left on. Now, the front of the engine was jacked up a bit with the rear left in place - maybe that's it. Since 40 Coupe and MG both say there's no harm in running it to see if the pressure comes down, I'll do that and report back. I'm a novice with these cars. I love original equipment, but I'm afraid of doing damage due to ignorance. Thanks and more after I run it a bit this weekned. TomO 09-03-2011 @ 7:07 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7250 Joined: Oct 2009 Tev, the oil pressure relief valve on a 37 V-8 is under the intake manifold at the front of the engine. There is no need to pull the pan to replace it. Check the wiring going to the oil pressure sending unit, if it is grounded the dash unit will read over 50#. Jacking the engine may have moved the wire to where it is grounded. Borrow or buy a mechanical pressure gauge to get an accurate reading of the oi pressure. Once you know how your dash gauge and sending unit reacts, you can use it to determine if your oil pressure is within normal range. Tom

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